Coins, Currency, and Medals

$100,000 U.S. Gold Certificate

The museum possesses one of the largest and most diverse numismatic collections in the world. Its diverse holdings represent every inhabited continent and span more than three millennia. The collection includes coins, paper money, medals, tokens, commodity and alternative currencies, coin dies, printing plates, scales and weights, financial documents and apparatuses, credit cards, and objects that reflect established and emerging digital monetary technologies worldwide.

Resource Type: Sketches

Flowing Hair Liberty Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1975

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1975
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.082
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.082

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.040
catalog number
2009.0005.040
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Drawing quick sketches Gasparro was able to transfer the ideas in his head into visual images on a sheet of paper. From this energetic start, Gasparro established his composition, subject, and placement for the necessary words on the coin.
Description (Brief)
Drawing quick sketches Gasparro was able to transfer the ideas in his head into visual images on a sheet of paper. From this energetic start, Gasparro established his composition, subject, and placement for the necessary words on the coin. From this jumping—off point, he drew many stages until he had a refined drawing ready to become a coin.
In this small group of artwork by Frank Gasparro are five different drawings showing the variations and stages Gasparro developed in eagle designs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.042
catalog number
2009.0005.042
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.039
catalog number
2009.0005.039
accession number
2009.0005

Birthplace of Lincoln One Cent Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1958

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.014
catalog number
2009.0005.014
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.049
catalog number
2009.0005.049
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Using tracing paper, Gasparro could place one sheet over a drawing and make incremental changes to that image without having to recreate the whole drawing. In this manner Gasparro perfected his designs.
Description (Brief)
Using tracing paper, Gasparro could place one sheet over a drawing and make incremental changes to that image without having to recreate the whole drawing. In this manner Gasparro perfected his designs. The small hole in the center of this tracing (produced by using a protractor to make the circle) and the straight line that comes from the center through the top middle of the drawing (the radius)indicate center. Center guidelines helped the artist to organize the type and composition on the coin.
In this small group of artwork by Frank Gasparro are five different drawings showing the variations and stages Gasparro developed in eagle designs.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.037
catalog number
2009.0005.037
accession number
2009.0005

Heraldic Shield One Cent Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1959

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.017
catalog number
2009.0005.017
accession number
2009.0005

Flowing Hair Liberty Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1999

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1999
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.081
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.081

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.048
catalog number
2009.0005.048
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.057
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.057

Liberty Olympic Medal Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1984

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1984
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.101
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.101

Eagle Half Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1977

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1977
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.054
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.054

Ear of Corn One Cent Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1959

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1959
ca 1958
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.016
catalog number
2009.0005.016
accession number
2009.0005

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.052
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.052

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1965-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1965-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.038
catalog number
2009.0005.038
accession number
2009.0005

Birthplace of Lincoln One Cent Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1959

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.015
catalog number
2009.0005.015
accession number
2009.0005

Lincoln Memorial One Cent Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1958

Gasparro drew and redrew his ideas until he produced that one image chosen to grace a coin. Here, on a refined view of the reverse for the Lincoln Memorial cent, is a mark where eventually the coin will display the second image of President Lincoln.
Description (Brief)
Gasparro drew and redrew his ideas until he produced that one image chosen to grace a coin. Here, on a refined view of the reverse for the Lincoln Memorial cent, is a mark where eventually the coin will display the second image of President Lincoln. The first image is Victor David Brenner's famous 1909 portrait on the obverse. The Lincoln Memorial cent was the first coin to have a portrait of the same person on both sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.012
catalog number
2009.0005.012
accession number
2009.0005

Graphite Drawing of Proposed Design for the Elder Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1979

In this rendition of the dollar, Susan B. Anthony faces left. She has a ridge on her nose and a softened jaw line that shows a realistic aging woman. In the final design, Anthony faced right and was given a younger look by smoothing out her nose and jaw line.
Description (Brief)
In this rendition of the dollar, Susan B. Anthony faces left. She has a ridge on her nose and a softened jaw line that shows a realistic aging woman. In the final design, Anthony faced right and was given a younger look by smoothing out her nose and jaw line. To help distinguish the new dollar from a quarter the round coin was given eleven sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1979
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.113
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.113

Flowing Hair Liberty Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1990-05
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.083
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.083

Graphite Drawing of Proposed Design for the Young Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1979

The Susan B. Anthony coin was the first American coin to illustrate an actual woman, rather than an allegorical or mythological figure. In this rendition of the dollar, Susan B.
Description (Brief)
The Susan B. Anthony coin was the first American coin to illustrate an actual woman, rather than an allegorical or mythological figure. In this rendition of the dollar, Susan B. Anthony faces right; the ridge on her nose and her softened jaw line is less pronounced than in earlier drawings.
The Susan B. Anthony coin was produced and distributed from the year 1979 through 1991, and then made one last year in 1999. Right from the beginning there was a problem with the new dollar because it was almost the same size as the quarter, and although the United States Mint gave the new dollar an eleven-sided edge to distinguish the dollar from the round quarter, people still confused the two coins. In the end, the Susan B. Anthony dollar never caught on as a spendable dollar for the general public.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1979
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.114
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.114

Eagle One Dollar Coin Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1955-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1955-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.051
catalog number
2009.0005.051
accession number
2009.0005

Flowing Hair Liberty Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1975-1990

Gasparro used both side of this sheet of paper to make gesture drawings—drawings done quickly to capture the motion of life. Here we have a bust of a Phrygian—capped Lady Liberty on one side of the paper and a full figure on the other.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Gasparro used both side of this sheet of paper to make gesture drawings—drawings done quickly to capture the motion of life. Here we have a bust of a Phrygian—capped Lady Liberty on one side of the paper and a full figure on the other.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.092
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.092

Flowing Hair Liberty Sketch, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 1975-1990

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1975-1990
artist
Gasparro, Frank
ID Number
2009.0005.094
accession number
2009.0005
catalog number
2009.0005.094

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